July 21, 2011 : NASA’s final space shuttle mission comes to an end Introduction On this day in 2011, NASA’s space shuttle program completes its final, and 135th, mission, when the shuttle Atlantis lands at Kennedy Space Center in Florida. During the program’s 30-year history, its five orbiters—Columbia, Challenger, Discovery, Atlantis and Endeavour—carried more than 350 people into space and flew more than 500 million miles, and shuttle crews conducted important research, serviced the Hubble Space Telescope and helped in the construction of the International Space Station, among other activities. NASA retired the shuttles to focus on a deep-space exploration program that could one day send astronauts to asteroids and Mars.

In January 1972, two-and-a-half years after America put the first man on the moon in July 1969, President Richard Nixon publicly announced that NASA would develop a space transportation system featuring a space vehicle capable of shuttling “repeatedly from Earth to orbit and back.” Nine years later, on April 12, 1981, at Kennedy Space Center, the first shuttle, Columbia, lifted off on its inaugural mission. Over the course of the next 54 hours, the two astronauts aboard NASA’s first reusable spacecraft successfully tested all its systems and orbited the Earth 37 times before landing at Edwards Air Force Base in California. In 1983, a second shuttle, Challenger, was put into service. It flew nine missions before breaking apart shortly after the launch of its 10th mission, on January 28, 1986. All seven crew members were killed, including high school teacher Christa McAuliffe, who had won a national contest to be the first U.S. civilian to fly aboard the space shuttle. In the aftermath of the disaster, the shuttle program was grounded until 1988.

The program’s third shuttle, Discovery, made its first flight in 1984. Atlantis entered the fleet in 1985, and was followed by Endeavour in 1992. The shuttle program experienced its second major disaster on February 1, 2003, when just minutes before Columbia was scheduled to land at Kennedy Space Center and conclude its 28th mission, it broke apart while re-entering the atmosphere over Texas. All seven astronauts on board perished. Afterward, the shuttle fleet was grounded until July 2005, when Discovery was launched on the program’s 114th mission. By the time Discovery completed its 39th and final mission (the most of any shuttle) in March 2011, it had flown 148 million miles, made 5,830 orbits of Earth and spent 365 days in space. Endeavour completed its 25th and final mission in June 2011. That mission was commanded by Capt. Mark Kelly, husband of former U.S. congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords.

On July 8, 2011, Atlantis was launched on its 33rd mission. With four crew members aboard, Atlantis flew thousands of pounds of supplies and extra parts to the International Space Station; it was the 37th shuttle flight to make the trip. Thirteen days later, on July 21, Atlantis touched down at Kennedy Space Center at 5:57 a.m., after a journey of more than 5 million miles, during which it orbited the Earth 200 times. Upon landing, the flight’s commander, Capt. Christopher J. Ferguson, said, “Mission complete, Houston. After serving the world for over 30 years, the space shuttle has earned its place in history, and it’s come to a final stop.” During its 26 years in service, Atlantis flew almost 126 million miles, circled Earth 4,848 times and spent 307 days in space. The estimated price tag for the entire space shuttle program, from development to retirement, was $209 billion. After completing their final missions, the orbiters were sent to museums around the country: Discovery went to the National Air and Space Museum Steven F.

Udvar-Hazy Center in Virginia, Endeavour to California Science Center in Los Angeles and Atlantis to Kennedy Space Center. A space shuttle prototype, the Enterprise, is now housed at the Intrepid Sea, Air & Space Museum in New York. Article Details: July 21, 2011 : NASA’s final space shuttle mission comes to an end Author July 21, 2011 : NASA’s final space shuttle mission comes to an end URL How NASA's Space Shuttles Got Their Names | Urban Ghosts 5 September 2013 (Image: NASA , public domain) When the Space Shuttle Atlantis touched down in Florida on July 21, 2011, it marked the end of an era. With funding drying up and a mood to do something ‘new’ infecting NASA high command, the 30-year old shuttle program had been forced into early retirement. To some, that Thursday morning in Kennedy Space Center , the stars had never seemed so far away. As Atlantis slowed to a halt on the runway, observers around the world noted that a nation’s dreams stopped with it.

The optimism that infused mid-20th century space travel seemed as old and worn as the fleet itself – a relic of a bygone era. Fast forward two years to 2013 and the shuttles are now housed in museums around the United States. NASA has set its sights on exploring Mars and space travel is moving incrementally into the commercial era. But we here at Urban Ghosts have always retained a special fondness for those shuttle missions – and we’re not ready to say goodbye just yet. With the last shuttle finally put on public display earlier this summer, we’ve decided to cash-in on our collective childhood nostalgia with a quick look at the history – and naming – of each shuttle: Enterprise (Image: NASA , public domain) Enterprise is the original shuttle. A prototype that changed the way we thought about space travel, forever. Dreamt up in the early 70’s, just months after Apollo 11 had put Neil Armstrong on the Moon, it became one of the most-admired designs in space history. The Russians even copied it wholesale, repackaging it as Buran (aka ‘Snowstorm’) and trying to convince the world that the similarities were only coincidental.

Despite all this, Enterprise never flew in space. Originally intended to be refitted for flight, it was passed over first for Challenger and then Endeavour. Throughout its life, Enterprise remained only a prototype – an image of a dream rather than the real thing. (Image: NASA , public domain; inset , low res screen shot via Wikipedia) Naming: From the go, NASA had intended to name their prototype shuttle Constitution, a slightly clumsy appeal to patriotism that impressed no-one. Among those unimpressed was Gerald Ford, who just-happened to be the target of an organised letter-writing campaign by Star Trek fans to get the shuttle named Enterprise. Either Ford was secretly a Trekkie or he simply liked the name, because he suggested NASA call it Enterprise and the rest is history. For NASA / Robert Z. Pearlman Rolling to the launch pad Atlantis began its 3.4-mile trek from the cavernous Vehicle Assembly Building to the launch pad Tuesday night at 8:42 p.m. EDT (0042 June 1 GMT). The roughly 7-hour journey ended at 3:29 a.m. EDT (0729 GMT), about an hour after Endeavour touched down.

"Seeing Atlantis roll out was really when it started to hit me that we're never going to see that again," Mike Moses, chair of the shuttle mission management team, said in a news briefing today. "So that was a pretty big, emotional event. But again, it was tempered with turning around and focusing on landing." [ Photos: Shuttle Atlantis' Last Launch Pad Trek ] Having two shuttle milestones within close proximity to one another was a unique and special event that drew large crowds and also served as a poignant reminder of the program's imminent end. "It's a very good day today, and I really want to thank the folks down here for all the dedication and hard work they put in," said NASA's space operations chief Bill Gerstenmaier. The plan for the future After Atlantis returns to Earth, NASA's space shuttle program will officially come to a close. NASA is ending its 30-year shuttle program to focus on developing new spaceships and rockets for exploration beyond low-Earth orbit, such as missions to an asteroid, the moon or Mars. Yet, until the next generation vehicles are ready, NASA faces a gap in human spaceflight during which time the agency will have to rely on Russian-built Soyuz spacecraft to reach the International Space Station .

"Times of transition are very difficult, and we're certainly in a time of transition," Magnus said. "As we're moving through the transition, it's difficult to see the big picture because we're all caught up in the little details. I think in the end, we'll end up with a good plan and we'll have a solid future ahead of us and we're just working our way through this very difficult transition in the meantime." And while the legacy of the space shuttle program will live on, the program's retirement will also signify the end of an iconic part of the country's space program. "I think we're losing that piece of identity," Walheim said. "That is a quintessential American vehicle. You point to that and people know it's from the United States." Reaching farther out into the cosmos But, to build upon the achievements of the space shuttle program and to advance human exploration, requires NASA to push further out into the solar system, he said. "As much as the space shuttle has done its mission to launch the interplanetary probes, to launch the Hubble Space Telescope , to build the space station – it's complete," Walheim said. "So it's done its job, and it's done its job admirably.

Now it's time to move onto something new. We've got to get out of low-Earth orbit, so to do that we need a new vehicle." But, the space shuttle era will always be remembered as a critical chapter in the nation's history, and Atlantis' upcoming STS-135 flight will be a part of that rich heritage. "I think we can look back and really take the sweet part of all this and say that we are blessed to have been a part of it – all of us, not just the chosen few who are lucky enough to fly it," Ferguson said. "As a country, I think we can look back and say, 'I remember when we flew the space shuttle and I remember the proud moment I felt when I felt the rumble in my chest when I watched the space shuttle launch, and I long for those days again.'" You can follow SPACE.com Staff Writer Denise Chow on Twitter @denisechow . Visit SPACE.com for complete coverage of Endeavour's final mission STS-134 or follow us @Spacedotcom and on Facebook .

Editor's Recommendations Space Shuttle Discovery: 5 Surprising Facts About NASA's Oldest Orbiter Space Shuttle Discovery: 5 Surprising Facts About NASA's Oldest Orbiter <a href=' Wall</a>, SPACE.com Senior Writer<br /><a href="">Space.com</a> Pin it Share The space shuttle Discovery is going on display at the Smithsonian Institution's National Air and Space Museum just outside Washington, D.C., this week after taking one last flight atop its a modified Boeing 747 jet from NASA's Florida spaceport on Tuesday (April 17). Discovery was the leader of NASA's space shuttle fleet , which retired in July after 30 years of service. The storied shuttle is the oldest of NASA's three remaining space-flown orbiters, and first blasted off in 1984. (The shuttles Columbia and Challenger debuted earlier, but both were lost along with their crews in tragic accidents.) Here are five interesting, and perhaps surprising, facts about the shuttle Discovery , which is due to be towed to the Smithsonian's Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center in Chantilly, Va., on Thursday (April 19): 1.

Discovery is really dirty Discovery's somewhat dingy appearance surprises many people who see the orbiter up close. But it would be strange if the shuttle gleamed a crisp, factory-floor white, considering how many times it's been to space and back (see below). [ 10 Cool Facts About Shuttle Discovery ] "When you look at her up close, she does look worn," said NASA's Stephanie Stilson, who managed Discovery's processing flow between the orbiter's missions from 2000 to 2011. "There are discolorations and streaks from going from orbit back into our environment here." Those streaks were inflicted primarily during re-entry to Earth's atmosphere, when Discovery experienced temperatures of up to to 3,000 degrees Fahrenheit (1,650 degrees Celsius). 2. It's the world's most-flown spacecraft Discovery flew 39 space missions during its operational life, more than any other space shuttle — or any other spacecraft in history, for that matter. The orbiter blasted off for the first time in August 1984 and touched down for good in March 2011.

Over the course of its 39 flights, Discovery logged a total of 365 days in space and put 148,221,675 miles (238,539,663 kilometers) on its odometer. That's the equivalent of more than 300 roundtrips to the moon . For comparison, the shuttle Atlantis flew 33 times, and Endeavour lifted off the pad 25 times. Columbia and Challenger notched 28 and 10 space missions, respectively, in their tragedy-shortened careers. 3. It deployed the Hubble Space Telescope Astronauts aboard Discovery deployed NASA's Hubble Space Telescope on the shuttle's STS-31 mission in April 1990. Five subsequent missions, launched aboard a variety of shuttles, repaired and upgraded the sensitive instrument. Hubble celebrates its 22nd anniversary in space this year and continues to snap stunning photos that increase our understanding and appreciation of the cosmos to this day. In 2011, it made its millionth science observation. 4.

It brought NASA back from tragedy, twice Discovery was the first shuttle to launch after each of the shuttle program's two fatal tragedies, the January 1986 loss of Challenger shortly after liftoff and the Feburary 2003 destruction of Columbia as it re-entered Earth's atmosphere. Each disaster took the lives of all seven astronauts aboard. In both cases, the shuttle program took several years to get back on its feet. Discovery's return-to-flight missions launched in September 1988 and July 2005, respectively, following substantial safety modifications for the orbiter fleet. 5. Discovery flew one of NASA's original astronauts Discovery is the only shuttle ever to fly one of the Mercury Seven — NASA's first astronaut class, which was chosen in 1959. The orbiter carried John Glenn on its STS-95 mission in October 1998, when the astronaut (and sitting U.S. senator) was 77 years old. On the flight, Glenn became the oldest person ever to reach space. Thirty-six years earlier, in 1962, he had become the first American to orbit Earth. Discovery broke other barriers as well.

It was the first American spacecraft to be piloted by a woman, and the first to have a female commander. NASA astronaut Eileen Collins piloted the shuttle's STS-63 mission in 1995, then commanded its STS-93 mission in 1999, which deployed NASA's Chandra X-ray Observatory. You can follow SPACE.com senior writer Mike Wall on Twitter: @michaeldwall . Follow SPACE.com for the latest in space science and exploration news on Twitter @Spacedotcom and on Facebook . NASA’s final space shuttle mission comes to an end - Jul 21, 2011 - HISTORY.com NASA’s final space shuttle mission comes to an end Share this: NASA’s final space shuttle mission comes to an end Author NASA’s final space shuttle mission comes to an end URL Publisher A+E Networks On this day in 2011, NASA’s space shuttle program completes its final, and 135th, mission, when the shuttle Atlantis lands at Kennedy Space Center in Florida.

During the program’s 30-year history, its five orbiters—Columbia, Challenger, Discovery, Atlantis and Endeavour—carried more than 350 people into space and flew more than 500 million miles, and shuttle crews conducted important research, serviced the Hubble Space Telescope and helped in the construction of the International Space Station, among other activities. NASA retired the shuttles to focus on a deep-space exploration program that could one day send astronauts to asteroids and Mars. In January 1972, two-and-a-half years after America put the first man on the moon in July 1969, President Richard Nixon publicly announced that NASA would develop a space transportation system featuring a space vehicle capable of shuttling “repeatedly from Earth to orbit and back.” Nine years later, on April 12, 1981, at Kennedy Space Center, the first shuttle, Columbia, lifted off on its inaugural mission. Over the course of the next 54 hours, the two astronauts aboard NASA’s first reusable spacecraft successfully tested all its systems and orbited the Earth 37 times before landing at Edwards Air Force Base in California.

In 1983, a second shuttle, Challenger, was put into service. It flew nine missions before breaking apart shortly after the launch of its 10th mission, on January 28, 1986. All seven crew members were killed, including high school teacher Christa McAuliffe, who had won a national contest to be the first U.S. civilian to fly aboard the space shuttle. In the aftermath of the disaster, the shuttle program was grounded until 1988. The program’s third shuttle, Discovery, made its first flight in 1984. Atlantis entered the fleet in 1985, and was followed by Endeavour in 1992. The shuttle program experienced its second major disaster on February 1, 2003, when just minutes before Columbia was scheduled to land at Kennedy Space Center and conclude its 28th mission, it broke apart while re-entering the atmosphere over Texas. All seven astronauts on board perished. Afterward, the shuttle fleet was grounded until July 2005, when Discovery was launched on the program’s 114th mission.

By the time Discovery completed its 39th and final mission (the most of any shuttle) in March 2011, it had flown 148 million miles, made 5,830 orbits of Earth and spent 365 days in space. Endeavour completed its 25th and final mission in June 2011. That mission was commanded by Capt. Mark Kelly, husband of former U.S. congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords. On July 8, 2011, Atlantis was launched on its 33rd mission. With four crew members aboard, Atlantis flew thousands of pounds of supplies and extra parts to the International Space Station; it was the 37th shuttle flight to make the trip. Thirteen days later, on July 21, Atlantis touched down at Kennedy Space Center at 5:57 a.m., after a journey of more than 5 million miles, during which it orbited the Earth 200 times. Upon landing, the flight’s commander, Capt. Christopher J. Ferguson, said, “Mission complete, Houston.

After serving the world for over 30 years, the space shuttle has earned its place in history, and it’s come to a final stop.” During its 26 years in service, Atlantis flew almost 126 million miles, circled Earth 4,848 times and spent 307 days in space. The estimated price tag for the entire space shuttle program, from development to retirement, was $209 billion. After completing their final missions, the orbiters were sent to museums around the country: Discovery went to the National Air and Space Museum Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center in Virginia, Endeavour to California Science Center in Los Angeles and Atlantis to Kennedy Space Center. A space shuttle prototype, the Enterprise, is now housed at the Intrepid Sea, Air & Space Museum in New York. Related Videos Vote Now! 11 Biggest Spaceflight Stories of 2011 Vote Now!

11 Biggest Spaceflight Stories of 2011 By Mike Wall, Space.com Senior Writer | December 21, 2011 10:31am ET MORE Credit: Roger Guillemette for SPACE.com 2011: The Year in Space 2011 was a very eventful year in spaceflight, with many vessels launching toward the heavens — and a few crashing back to Earth. Here's a look at the top 11 spaceflight stories of the year , from the last mission of NASA's venerable space shuttle program to China's first-ever docking of two spaceships in Earth orbit: 2 of 13 Credit: SpaceX Private Spaceflight Makes Strides A private space race is developing among companies that hope to ferry NASA astronauts to and from low-Earth orbit in the post-shuttle era, and 2011 saw that race heat up. Several different companies made strides this year in their private spacecraft development . The chief contenders — firms such as Blue Origin, SpaceX, Boeing and Sierra Nevada — generally say they should be ready to fly by 2015 or 2016. Private suborbital spaceflight also made progress this year.

The space tourism company Virgin Galactic conducted more glide tests of its SpaceShipTwo vehicle, and company officials have said that in-vehicle rocket tests should start in the first half of 2012. NEXT: Giant Mars Rover Launches 3 of 13 Credit: collectSPACE/Robert Z. Pearlman Giant Mars Rover Blasts Off NASA launched its own Mars mission Nov. 26, less than three weeks after Russia's left the pad. But unlike Phobos-Grunt, the $2.5-billion Mars Science Laboratory (MSL) mission is speeding toward the Red Planet, apparently in perfect health. [ Launch Photos ] The mission will drop the car-size Curiosity rover at Mars' huge Gale Crater in August 2012, using a rocket-powered sky crane to lower the robot to the planet's surface. Curiosity's main task is to assess whether the Gale Crater area is, or ever was, capable of supporting microbial life. NEXT: International Space Station Completed 4 of 13 Credit: NASA International Space Station Completed After 13 years of construction work, the International Space Station finally reached a measure of completeness in 2011.

In March, the space shuttle Discovery delivered NASA's final contribution to the assembly of the orbiting lab, a new room called the Permanent Multipurpose Module. While Russia may attach one more module in the coming years, construction from a U.S. standpoint is now 100-percent done. NASA and its international partners began building the orbiting lab in 1998. The 431-ton space station is as big as a football field and has about as much living space as a five-bedroom house. With an estimated price tag of $100 billion, the orbital outpost is the most expensive structure ever built. NEXT: Russia's Space Woes Credit: Roscosmos Russia's Space Woes 2011 was a tough year for Russian spaceflight, as a string of high-profile mishaps plagued the country. On Feb. 1, for example, a Rockot launch vehicle failed to deliver an Earth-observing satellite to the proper orbit. And on Aug. 18, a Proton rocket didn't place a $300-million communications satellite in the desired orbit. Then, on Aug.

24, the unmanned Progress 44 supply ship crashed while hauling cargo to the International Space Station, doomed by a problem with the third stage of its Soyuz rocket. Finally, the $165-million Mars moon probe Phobos-Grunt got stuck in Earth orbit shortly after its Nov. 8 launch. The spacecraft's thrusters were supposed to fire to send it on a course for the Red Planet, but they never did so. [ Photos: Russia's Failed Phobos-Grunt Mission ] NEXT: NASA's New Rocket & Spaceship 6 of 13 Credit: NASA NASA's New Rocket & Spaceship In 2010, President Barack Obama instructed NASA to work toward getting astronauts to an asteroid by 2025 and to Mars by the mid-2030s. This year, the space agency laid out how it plans to reach these deep-space destinations. The astronauts will ride aboard a new spaceship called the Orion Multipurpose Crew Vehicle, which NASA announced in May.

The spacecraft is based heavily on the old Orion capsule concept, which NASA began developing as part of now-cancelled moon exploration program In September, NASA revealed its Space Launch System (SLS), the $10-billion giant rocket that will lift Orion off the pad. NASA hopes the Orion-SLS combo will be launching astronauts toward deep space by 2021. NEXT: Uncertain Future of American Spaceflight 7 of 13 Credit: ESA Uncertain Future of American Spaceflight In many ways, NASA had a great year in 2011. But the year also brought its share of transition and uncertainty . With the space shuttle fleet retired, NASA is now completely dependent on Russian Soyuz vehicles to ferry its astronauts to and from the International Space Station, at $63 million per seat. NASA wants American private spaceflight companies to take over this taxi service soon, but that probably won't happen until 2017 at the earliest, officials have said. NASA's budget also was trimmed, as lawmakers look to cut federal spending across the board. The agency may get just $17.4 billion in fiscal year 2012, down from $18.5 billion in 2011.

The belt-tightening could threaten some of the agency's most ambitious and expensive projects, including the $8.8-billion James Webb Space Telescope (JWST), which was nearly cancelled this year before Congress restored funding for the mission. The JWST will launch in 2018. NEXT: The Astronaut & the Congresswoman 8 of 13 Credit: Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords' office The Astronaut & the Congresswoman On Jan. 8, a gunman shot Arizona congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords in the head as she talked to constituents outside a Tucson grocery store. The attack left Giffords gravely wounded and six other people dead. The tragedy reverberated beyond Arizona and the halls of Congress, reaching into low-Earth orbit. Giffords' husband, Mark Kelly, was slated to command the STS-134 mission of the space shuttle Endeavour — the second-to-last flight of the shuttle program — just a few months after the shooting. Her brother-in-law, Scott Kelly (Mark's identical twin) was also in space commanding the International Space Station at the time. Giffords made strides in her recovery and ultimately Kelly decided to take part in the mission.

When Endeavour blasted off from Florida's Kennedy Space Center on May 16, Giffords was in the crowd. [ Photos of Giffords & Kelly ] Kelly retired in October with four spaceflights under his belt. Giffords continues to recuperate, and she's said she may consider a return to Congress if her condition improves enough. NEXT: 50 Years of Human Spaceflight 9 of 13 Credit: ESA 50 Years of Human Spaceflight The space shuttle program celebrated 30 years of spaceflight in 2011, but that anniversary took a back seat to a much bigger one this year: 50 years of human spaceflight . Yuri Gagarin became the first person in space on April 12, 1961, completing one Earth orbit in his tiny Vostok capsule before returning safely to terra firma less than two hours later. The United States launched its first spaceflyer just weeks later, Alan Shepard, on a suborbital flight on May 5. On May 25, 1961, President John F. Kennedy made the speech that charted NASA's direction for years to come, announcing that the U.S.

would put an astronaut on the moon before the end of the decade. NEXT: A Space First for China 10 of 13 Credit: China Central Television A Space First for China Nov. 2 was a banner day for China and its space program. On that date, the nation successfully docked two robotic spacecraft in low-Earth orbit for the first time ever. The mating of the two vehicles — called Shenzhou 8 and Tiangong 1 — was designed to test key technologies that China will use to assemble a space station in orbit. The country hopes to have a 66-ton manned station up and running by 2020. China plans to launch two more docking missions during 2012, at least one of which will be manned. NEXT: Space Shuttle Era Ends 11 of 13 Credit: NASA/Kenny Allen Space Shuttle Era Ends This year saw the last flight of an American icon as NASA's storied space shuttle program came to an end after 30 years of service. The last flight ended when shuttle Atlantis touched down shortly before dawn on July 21.

Atlantis' flight was the 135th space mission for the shuttle program, which began flights in 1981. The shuttle was pivotal in the construction of the International Space Station and was the first reusable crewed spaceship. Two of its 135 missions ended in tragedy, killing a total of 14 astronauts. The shuttle Challenger exploded shortly after liftoff in 1986, while Columbia broke up during re-entry in 2003. The three remaining space-flown orbiters are now being prepped for display in museums. NEXT: Satellites Fall from the Sky 12 of 13 Credit: AGI Satellites Fall from the Sky The sky wasn't really falling in autumn 2011; it just seemed that way, with two defunct satellites plummeting to Earth out of control within a month of each other. First came NASA's Upper Atmosphere Research Satellite , or UARS. This 6.5-ton climate satellite, which was about the size of a school bus, launched in 1991 and was decommissioned in 2005.

UARS then spent six years spiraling slowly toward our planet, finally plunging into the atmosphere above the Pacific Ocean on Sept. 24. Germany's 2.7-ton Roentgen Satellite, or ROSAT, followed closely on UARS' heels. This craft, which launched in 1990 to survey the heavens in X-rays and was shut down in 1999, fell back to Earth over the Indian Ocean on Oct. 23. Neither uncontrolled satellite crash injured anyone. But the sky isn't done raining down huge pieces of space junk. Russia's failed Mars probe Phobos-Grunt will plummet to Earth by January 2012. 13 of 13 Space shuttle Atlantis touches down, ending an era of adventure in space | Science | The Guardian Final space shuttle mission Space shuttle Atlantis touches down, ending an era of adventure in space Nasa employees weep at Kennedy Space Centre as half a century of American dominance in space comes to a close The Nasa space shuttle Atlantis on runway 15 at the Kennedy Space Centre in Florida after completing the final shuttle mission in space.

Photograph: Bruce Weaver/AFP/Getty Images Thursday 21 July 2011 12.59 EDT First published on Thursday 21 July 2011 12.59 EDT Close This article is 5 years old She roared into the heavens a fortnight ago atop a column of fire , enthralling a million spectators as she set off on her final voyage. But the space shuttle Atlantis slipped quietly back to port on Thursday at the end of her five-million-mile journey, gently lowering the curtain on three extraordinary decades of adventure in human space flight . Nasa's space shuttle era officially came to a close at 5.57am (10.57am BST) when the orbiter and its crew of four astronauts touched down at a remote runway in the northern reaches of Florida's Kennedy Space Centre in Florida, watched by a few hundred space agency workers and reporters who turned out before dawn to witness a moment of history.

Like a ship's bell ringing a vessel safely back home, two deafening sonic booms pierced the Florida sky to signal Atlantis's otherwise silent arrival, and the last few seconds of the 135th and final mission since the first launch of Columbia in April 1981. It was day of celebration and raw emotion, with Nasa employees openly weeping on the runway in front of the newly retired shuttle, and Chris Ferguson, the Atlantis commander, paying a moving tribute to it and the rest of the spacecraft fleet. "The space shuttle has changed the way we view the world and it's changed the way we view our universe," he said moments after landing. "There are a lot of emotions today, but one thing is indisputable. America's not going to stop exploring. Thank you Columbia, Challenger, Discovery, Endeavour and our ship, Atlantis. Thank you for protecting us and bringing this programme to such a fitting end." Charles Bolden, a former astronaut who is now the Nasa administrator, was keen to look ahead . "At today's final landing of the space shuttle, we had the rare opportunity to witness history," he said. "We turned the page on a remarkable era and began the next chapter in our nation's extraordinary story of exploration.

This final shuttle flight marks the end of an era, but today we recommit ourselves to continuing human spaceflight and taking the necessary and difficult steps to ensure America's leadership in human spaceflight for years to come." Despite the rallying words, many feel that the moment of wheels-stop for Atlantis also marked the end of a half-century of US dominance in space. For the first time in the agency's 53-year history it has no vehicle, existing or in the works, capable of launching astronauts into orbit. The International Space Station, built almost exclusively by American astronauts flying shuttles, must now be serviced by Russia's Soviet-era Soyuz spacecraft . More humiliating is that Nasa is having to hitch rides to the space station with the Russians, paying them up to $63m (£39m) for each astronaut it wants to send. Private companies including SpaceX , Lockheed Martin and Sierra Nevada have won Nasa contracts to develop spacecraft to compete for such lower Earth orbit duties and hope to be flying humans to the ISS by 2015.

Nasa, meanwhile, is charged with designing, but not yet building, a new heavy-lift rocket that might eventually take astronauts back to the moon for the first time since 1972, and perhaps later on to Mars. President Barack Obama, who cancelled the planned next-generation Constellation programme of spacecraft and rockets on cost grounds, is under pressure to announce a date when work on the so-called Space Launch System can begin. Bob Cabana, the Kennedy Space Centre director, admits the agency faces a severe challenge. Almost 10,000 workers have lost their jobs with the end of the shuttle programme and last week the influential house appropriations committee in the US Congress announced it wanted to slash Nasa's budget by $1.9bn. "We enjoy this celebration and reflection on everything the shuttles achieved, but we go straight back to work on Monday," Cabana said. "We have to put the architecture into place to support the heavy-lift rocket that will allow us to get back to exploring. It's in our DNA to explore; we need to be doing it." Nasa's retired shuttles are to go on public display .

Atlantis, which travelled almost 126m miles in its 33 flights since its first launch in October 1985, will be housed at the space centre's visitor complex after a lengthy decommissioning process. Endeavour, which completed its final flight on 1 June, is heading for the California Science Museum in Los Angeles and Discovery, last flown in March, will replace the non-orbiting shuttle prototype Enterprise at the National Air and Space Museum in Washington DC. Nasa's two other shuttles, Challenger and Columbia, were destroyed in flight during missions in 1986 and 2003 respectively, each disaster costing seven astronauts their lives. In all, the five shuttles flew 542m miles, including missions to release satellites and launch and repair the Hubble space telescope. Mike Leinbach, Nasa's launch director, remembered the sacrifices made by the crews and paid tribute to the generations of employees who worked on the shuttle programme. "There's a lot of sadness that it's over, and it's hard to say goodbye to so many people who have over the years become family," he said.

"But the sun will rise again tomorrow." Nasa employees turn out in darkness to welcome the space shuttle home after 126 million miles travelled Published: 21 Jul 2011 Atlantis Lands Successfully, Ending NASA's Shuttle Era Atlantis Lands Successfully, Ending NASA's Shuttle Era Chloe Albanesius - PC Magazine Pin it Share Just before 6am Eastern time this morning, the space shuttle Atlantis landed at Florida's Kennedy Space Center for the last time, marking the end of the space shuttle era. Atlantis touched down at 5:57am and came to a complete stop about one minute later. Its arrival capped off a mission that lasted 12 days, 18 hours, 28 minutes, and 50 seconds and covered more than 5.2 million miles. The shuttle's arrival was the 25th night landing during the 30-year shuttle program, the 78th landing at Kennedy Space Center, and the 133rd landing in shuttle history. The shuttle crew—which consists of Commander Chris Ferguson, Pilot Doug Hurley, and Mission Specialists Sandra Magnus and Rex Walheim—left the International Space Station on Monday for the two-day journey home.

At 4:49am this morning, the shuttle started its deorbital burn, which slowed Atlantis by 331 feet per second before it started its entry into Earth's atmosphere at 5:24am. It approached the space center from the west coast of Florida near Naples. Atlantis arrived at the ISS stuffed with 9,403 pounds of spare parts, equipment, and other supplies—including 2,677 pounds of food that will sustain the ISS crew in the coming year. It departed with 5,700 pounds of supplies, including faulty parts, and a good amount of trash that had accumulated on the ISS. "Gorgeous views backing away from ISS. Emotional departure. Start packing for home tomorrow. Busy, tired, smiling," Mission Specialist Walheim tweeted upon leaving the ISS. NASA officials will have more details at a post-landing press conference, which will air live on NASA TV at 10am. But in a Thursday blog post , NASA administrator Charles Bolden, a former astronaut, said the Atlantis crew is "emblematic of the shuttle program. Skilled professionals from diverse backgrounds who propelled America to continued leadership in space with the shuttle's many successes.

It is my great honor today to welcome them home." "This final shuttle flight marks the end of an era, but today, we recommit ourselves to continuing human space flight and taking the necessary—and difficult—steps to ensure America's leadership in human spaceflight for years to come," Bolden wrote. After today, NASA will retired its space shuttle fleet, eventually shipping them off to various museums across the country. The agency will then focus on deep-space exploration while trips to the ISS will be handled by international and, eventually, commercial crews. NASA's future has been in a state of flux lately, with budget restraints putting the future of some of its projects in jeopardy, including the James Webb telescope . Reblog

Question: Which space shuttle, it touched down in July 2011, brought NASA's shuttle programme to an end?
Answer: Atlantis